Roadkill massacre!!

[ed17]

Hi everyone,
i read this in the hamilton spectator newspaper today and it sickened me. I was wondering, does anyone know if these eggs are salvaged, and if not, is it possible to save the eggs? I would love to get involved anyway possible. Here it is.

Nesting turtles crushed along QEW
By Peter Van Harten
The Hamilton Spectator

The roadkill massacre of turtles trying to nest along the QEW sickens Joanne Diemert on her way to work.

She's seen dozens of squished bodies or dying turtles near the Burlington Street ramp running off the Toronto-bound lanes.

"It's a grisly scene and so disturbing," says the Dofasco employee. "It's heartwrenching."

The turtles make their way from the Van Wagner's ponds to lay their eggs in the gravelled shoulders of the highway close to the warm pavement.

But they end up as victims of the traffic whizzing by.

"June is nesting time and there are only a couple of weeks left to save them," Diemert explained.

"Sometimes you see them flipped on their backs struggling but you can't stop to help them or you'll get hit yourself."

Diemert, part of a performance management team at Dofasco, says barriers or safer nesting areas should be created to protect the turtles.

She said most of the turtle carcasses were cleaned up yesterday afternoon --possibly by a road crew -- but she fears the slaughter will continue if nothing is done.

A Ministry of Transportation spokesman said three carcasses were cleaned up Wednesday, which is considered unusually high.

There was no report for yesterday.

Shari Wiseman, the ecologist at the Hamilton Conservation Authority, says she's received calls from motorists and "it's not a pretty situation."

The authority manages the wetlands adjacent to Confederation Park for the city but is not able to control what happens along the shoulder of the Queen Elizabeth Way highway.

There was a minor problem in past years but it appears this year there is an increase in the roadkill of nesting and migrating turtles.

Mike Oldham, a biologist with the Ministry of Natural Resources, says the past few days of hot weather likely attracted more noticeable numbers of turtles attempting to cross the highway or nest in the gravelled and sandy shoulders of the QEW.

The roadkill is alarming because the province's turtle population is on the decline, especially in wetlands near major roads, he noted.

"It's a huge problem and the Hamilton area is not unique," he said.

The death of adult turtles is upsetting and can have a major impact because, although they live long, they lay only small clutches of eggs. Most of the turtles are likely snapping or painted turtles but could also include "rare and endangered" species such as Blanding's turtle.

Barriers and artificial nesting areas are being experimented with in some areas but they require supervision to protect the turtles, which can climb over or dig under barriers.

Community groups have put up turtle crossing road signs in some rural areas but that wouldn't be feasible along the QEW, he points out.

Several years ago, the Royal Botanical Gardens became alarmed at the number of migratory turtles being killed by traffic at Cootes Paradise and created artificial nesting areas.

A four-month survey of roadkill on Cootes Drive in 1999 found 80 dead turtles -- 66 snapping, 11 painted, one Blanding's and two that could not be identified.

The Hamilton Conservation Authority has created nesting beds on its Stacey Meadow lands in Dundas Valley to protect turtles from nearby traffic.